Poor Fledgling
by Polaricey123
Summary: Link has trouble sleeping. When he hears his neighbor collapse from exhaustion, he rushes over to help him. A kind gesture turns into a serious talk about whether or not Fledge should be a Knight. I guess "Fluffy"? LinkXFledge. Leave a review if you enjoyed! B3 There's some romance if you look VERY hard. Heehee...hard XD (so immature, omg x.x)


_**A/N: What the Hell? Why isn't there a story on Fanfiction .net about Link and Fledge being together without it being one-sided or making Fledge a creeper? D:**_

_**Poor Fledgling**_

_By Polaricey123_

Link sighed softly as he turned onto his other side and squeezed his eyes shut.

No luck.

He flipped back onto his back and listened intently as the noise next door continued to invade his ears. He had discovered the source of the sound to be his roommate, Fledge, grunting while he exercised. Admitably, Fledge was rather scrawny and weak— two attributes that fueled his desire to become stronger. Link didn't want to discourage the poor boy, so he said nothing about how his grunts and pants were keeping him awake at night.

Still, he had no hope of properly carrying out his destiny if he was tired all day long. But he couldn't come up with a way to tell Fledge about his problem gently without upsetting him. What exactly would he say?

_'Hi__,__ Fledge. Look, I know you want to become stronger, but could you keep it down? I can't sleep with you making all that noise.'_

That seemed like a rather harmless request. It wasn't as if Link was berating the boy or discouraging him from wanting to better himself. Still, Fledge was emotionally impossible to read. He could either take it calmly, or he could lose confidence in himself from having inconvenienced the one person he really admired.

However, the hero knew this couldn't keep going on like it was. This was the fifth night in a row he was trying to sleep up in Skyloft while going about his business on the Surface during the day. Due to Fledge's nightly work out routines, the hero scarcely got any rest which he knew would be needed if he were to be of any use to Zelda. His extreme lack of sleep was starting to affect his movements as he battled, but his compassion for Fledge's feelings was keeping him from putting an end to the noises.

The hero briefly considered sleeping somewhere else, but cringed inwardly as he remembered being scolded by various townspeople for using their things without their permission. Even _with_ their permission most of them demanded things from him the morning after spending the night, such as cleaning up the house or running errands. Didn't any of them realize that as Hylia's chosen hero Link had more pressing things to do than be their errand boy?

Irritated, the older Skyloftian covered his eyes with his left arm and willed himself to go to sleep. Hearing the younger boy's grunts made his figure appear within the black emptiness of Link's vision. He watched as the boy lowered himself to the dark ground, then strain to push himself back up. Sweat covered his forehead and ran down the side of his temple. In fact, every inch of the boy's skin was beaded with sweat, which sparkled in the dark void. His eyes were glued to the floor in front of him, his gaze both exhausted and determined. His motivation was always an enigma to the hero.

Poor Fledge was always teased and derided during school, which was why the boy preferred to work out at night. Who in their right mind would think to hunt him down and tease him in the middle of the night? It was the only time of the day where nobody would be staring at him and he was free to do whatever he wanted in the comfortable solace and privacy of his own bedroom.

This was Fledge's personal time, and his neighbor had absolutely no intention of denying him it.

Link's arm suddenly dropped to his side when he heard a gentle _thump_ come from the room next door. The grunting stopped, though it seemed to stress out the hero more then it coaxed him into a blissful rest. The stillness of the night was somewhat unsettling. Fledge should be panting heavily from the amount of effort he'd just put into his strenuous workout, right? Yet, Link didn't hear the boy panting at all.

After some hesitation, Link got out of bed and gently tapped on the wooden wall that separated their rooms. "Fledge, you okay?"

No answer.

Link panicked as he darted out of his room and rushed over to Fledge's door. No one was in the halls, which was a relief considering he had forgotten his shirt in his bedroom. He flung open the door and slammed it shut after darting into the room. The boy was sprawled out on the floor, seemingly passed out. The hero gently rolled him over onto his back and moved a strand of his disheveled hair from in front of his face. He gently placed a hand under the boy's knees and around his shoulders, then carefully carried him over to his bed. He sat down next to the unconscious boy, taking the time to admire the worn out places on the rug where Fledge had been doing his exercises.

The younger Skyloftian suddenly reached a hand up to his forehead. He grunted a couple times before he opened his eyes, which landed on the hero. "Ugh...Link?"

"It's okay, Fledge. It looks as though you passed out."

Fledge merely nodded weakly in response while averting his gaze from Link's.

"Are you alright?" the older boy asked with concern etched across his facial features. "Do you need a drink or something?"

"No, no, I'm okay," he replied while still refusing to look the hero in his eyes. A light blush began to creep up on his face. "Sorry I woke you, Link."

The hero smiled warmly at his neighbor. "Don't be. I wasn't sleeping anyway, just unwinding."

Fledge nodded again while continuing to avoid looking at Link.

The older boy frowned and rubbed the back of his neck before realizing with no small amount of embarrassment that he was still shirtless. "Sorry I'm, eh…not in decent dressings. No wonder you're uncomfortable…"

"That's not it. I uh…thank you for coming to help me."

Link smiled and patted the boy on his shoulder. "Anytime, Fledge. Glad I could help."

A long stretch of silence grew between them. Fledge still refused to look Link in his eyes, and the awkwardness was starting to get to the hero. He considered asking his neighbor if he would perhaps like a bit of help with his training, but then remembered that this was Fledge's personal time. Link suddenly felt like he'd intruded his neighbor's personal space and cleared his throat before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Link…can I ask you something?" Fledge asked quietly.

Link froze mid-step and smiled at himself. The boy was practically giving him an opportunity to stay, which he'd have to be crazy to say no to.

He turned and chuckled lightly as he sat back down on the bed. "Didn't give me much of an option there, did you?" The older Skyloftian couldn't help but laugh again as he received a raised eyebrow as a reply, then added, "Sure, Fledge, what is it?"

"Do you think I should be a Knight?"

Sapphire eyes widened at the unexpected question while amber ones stared anxiously into them, searching desperately for an approving answer. Link had to really think about the question, and averted Fledge's hopeful gaze as he did so.

The boy was weak in many ways, and lacked a lot of important qualities that a Knight had. He lacked Groose's strength, Karane's charm, Pipit's nobility, Zelda's confidence, Cawlin and Stritch's loyalty (albeit their loyalty was rather misplaced), and, probably more than anything, his own undying courage. Fledge could train and train until his body caved in to exhaustion, but the harsh reality was that he was pretty much as far from what a Knight is as he could be.

However, the boy had one trait that set him apart from everyone else in his class: He recognized his flaws for what they were, and was willing to better himself regardless of his weaknesses.

Link couldn't think of one classmate other than Fledge that would admit that he or she is imperfect. Well…except maybe Pipit.

The hero suddenly recalled an event where he'd faced Pipit after he'd been arguing with his mother and after some words were exchanged the yellow-clad Skyloftian had gotten very defensive and said that Link's no Mr. Perfect either if he's eavesdropping on others' arguments. At no point did Link ever say he was a perfect person, but also at no other point did he ever hear Pipit speak so harshly towards anyone again. Pipit also ceased his Senior Class Knight holier-than-thou spiels whenever he saw Link— whereas before he'd boast about how being a Knight was all about helping others and keeping the peace of Skyloft, he'd now either rush his speech to finish and leave before Link could say anything or he'd just stop talking altogether.

Pipit's extra work effort to afford attendance at the academy wasn't necessarily something to be ashamed of – if anything it made him even more venerable – but he treated it like a shameful fact. Regardless, he tried to better his situation even given his handicap. In that sense, Fledge and Pipit were very much alike.

Link smiled a little the more he thought about Fledge's question, but a small whimper pulled him back to reality. The younger Skyloftian was sitting up now and looking mournfully down at the floor with his back to Link. His neighbor's droning silence practically answered his lingering question for him.

Smiling still, Link slid closer to him and set a hand on his shoulder. The boy may be imperfect, but his determination to keep trying regardless of others putting him down and willingness to better himself makes him worthy of being a Knight in training. Leaving the older Skyloftian with the firm answer of—

"Yes."

Amber eyes shot over to the shirtless hero in confusion. "Huh?"

Link's smile grew wider. "Yes, you should be a Knight!"

The boy's face lit up with excitement. "You really think so?"

"I _know_ so!" was the vibrant reply with a reassuring slap on the back he got from the older boy. "Fledge I'm not going to lie. You're far from completing your training. You lack courage, strength, and wisdom…"

As Fledge's gaze sank to the floor, Link knelt in front of him and held his face up so he'd meet his gaze.

"But what you're _not_ lacking is determination! I've seen it in your eyes whenever you've asked me to get you a Stamina Potion, and I see it shining in your eyes as we speak. That's _great_! Having sheer willpower makes you stronger than that redheaded doofus across the hallway. I'll be the first to say it…I think you have it in you to be a far greater Knight than Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch _combined_!"

The younger boy couldn't help but give a small smile and look down at his hands as he wrung them together, a blush burning his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Nobody had ever shown such confidence in him before. His blush deepened as he felt Link's thumb caress his cheek lightly. "You're so kind, Link…"

The Skyloftian hero couldn't help but smile warmly. He'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't find his reaction….somewhat adorable. He withdrew his hand from his cheek and gently squeezed both of Fledge's hands. "I'm just getting warmed up. I'll be right back, though."

Fledge watched silently as Link rushed out of his room. A few seconds later he heard the door on the other side of the wooden wall open and saw a pair of feet shuffle over to one side of his neighbor's room. Some rustling and silent cursing could be heard before the person tripped and fell onto Link's bed. A grunt and more struggling was heard until the figure stood back up and knelt down next to something. After some rustling sounds, the figure stepped back with a triumphant "Ah-ha!" and rushed back out of the room, closing the door behind them. Seconds later, Link burst back into Fledge's room wearing a white nightshirt with vertical green stripes and closed the door behind him.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," Link softly demanded while kneeling back in front of his friend. His knees were starting to ache, but he didn't pay them much heed.

The younger boy obeyed his neighbor's commands. Something small, smooth, and round was placed in his hands and he couldn't help but run his fingers over the moderately cold surface. The object was smooth like glass and round like a flat stone.

"Okay, open them."

He opened his eyes and looked at the object in bewilderment and gasped. "It's…beautiful," breathed the boy.

"It's a charm I made a long time ago," Link explained. "See the orange part? That's a treasure called an Amber Relic. The purple part is a treasure called a Dusk Relic."

The charm had a long golden string that looped through the Dusk Relic hole and connected with a darker thread that looped through the Amber Relic hole. Smiling softly, Link took the charm from Fledge's hands and looped the string around his neck.

"Oh, Link, I couldn't-"

"-Hush," Link cut him off while pressing a finger to his lips. He gently cupped Fledge's hands around the charm now dangling from his neck. "I want you to keep this. Wear it while you train as a reminder of my words."

Sapphire eyes sparkled from the light reflected from the charm as they looked sincerely into amber. Fledge's hands felt a little cold and clammy, but he focused intently on Link.

"You have the potential to be an amazing Knight, Fledge. I can tell that if you really – and I mean _REALLY_ – have your heart set on becoming a truly incredible Knight, there isn't anything that is going to stop you. Is it going to be easy? No. But anything worthwhile is going to take a lot of effort to achieve."

Link tightened his grip on the boy's hands and smiled brightly.

"Don't let anyone keep you from achieving your dream, Fledge! Naysayers and non-believers will try to drag you down in the mud, but you're so much stronger than them! Show them – show the _world_ – that nothing anybody tries to say or do will keep you from becoming the best Knight you can be!"

Link stood up suddenly, forcing Fledge to his feet as well. The younger Skyloftian was beaming and Link noticed joyful tears rolling down his face. The hero felt no small amount of pride swelling in his chest as he narrowed his eyes and smiled joyously in return.

"You can become a Knight, Fledge. You have it in you, I _know_ you do." Link smiled warmly as he set a hand on the other boy's chest. "And I think deep down you do too."

Fledge sniffled and wiped his eyes before pulling his neighbor into a giant hug. The sheer force threw Link off balance, thus causing the two to topple to the floor. Feeling slightly disoriented, Link chuckled lightly before wrapping his arms around the younger boy and returning his warm embrace.

A slight pang of pity struck the hero as he frowned down at the boy, who still clung to him as if his life depended on it. Fledge was one of the sweetest guys Link knew, and yet he'd never really seen him burst into tears before. Even with all of Groose's bullying, he'd never once seen Fledge openly cry before. This made Link question when someone had last encouraged the boy to pursue his dreams. After all the times Groose had called him a worthless sack of flesh and fear, had nobody really comforted this poor soul and shot down his bully's allegations?

Suddenly, something dawned on Link.

Fledge had the comfort of _nobody_ to help him cope with Groose's bullying. Nobody hugged him as he cried from punches, nobody told him it'd be okay, and nobody made him feel better about his abilities after that redheaded dork got through cutting him down as finely as he could.

It wasn't hard for Link to remember his own bullying days. Groose had a way of making someone feel absolutely rotten about themselves, and he had plenty of his own experiences that would attest to that. However, his had been somewhat tolerable with Zelda and Pipit to defend and support him during the darkest of days. Fledge had absolutely nobody to comfort him and convince him of his self-worth when Groose put him down.

This boy's determination to get better wasn't the result of friends supporting him and everything he did, nor the result of parents encouraging him to be the best he could be. No, Fledge's determination to get better spawned from how little others thought him capable of, and how much he wanted to prove them wrong.

But…he had wavered.

The boy obviously put a lot of strain on his body continuously in order to train himself to his maximum limit, perhaps to a degree where he continued even beyond when his body demanded rest. It's possible that he mistook his moments of rest and recovery as moments of weakness and faltering strength. He possibly denied himself rest with more Stamina Potions in order to keep himself training beyond what his body would normally allow.

The boy was lucky he only _passed out_ from such self-abuse. He probably would've lasted another day without letting himself rest before he would've—

"Fledge."

"Mm?" Suddenly the boy jerked up and shuffled away from Link. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I'd, like, been smothering you, or hugging you longer than what was necessary! I don't want you to think me weird or anyth-"

"-Hush," Link cut him off with a finger against Fledge's lips. He removed his finger as the boy blushed and averted his gaze. "I want you to do something for me."

Fledge beamed at him. "Sure, Link, anything!"

"Drink plenty of water and take breaks."

The boy raised an eyebrow in confusion. Link sighed softly.

"I know you're going to be training hard to improve yourself, but don't push yourself too hard. Everyone needs to take a break in order to let their bodies recover from a great deal of physical exertion. Even _I _take breaks from my adventures when I need to let my body rest— heck, I'm taking one now as we speak!"

Fledge frowned and rubbed the back of his neck while looking sheepishly at the floor. "Yeah, I suppose. I just…I want to get buffer really fast, so at least Cawlin and Stritch will leave me alone. Ever since Groose left, they've been causing me a lot of problems…"

"You let me handle them," Link replied with a sly smirk. "You just focus on training and resting."

The younger Skyloftian nodded a bit before smiling down at his charm. Link figured his work was done and turned to leave before stopping in his tracks. He hesitated a bit while nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Link? Is there something wrong?" Fledge stepped up behind him and set a hand on his shoulder.

In a swift movement, the hero spun around and wrapped his arms around the younger boy in a tight hug. Fledge froze instinctively while hoping Link didn't notice the hitch in his breath from the sudden contact. The hug was over before he could react to it, but Link had both of his hands on the boy's shoulders and a peculiar smile on his face.

"I am just-" the hero started in a soft whisper, "-I am…just _so_ proud of you, Fledge. Really. I'm proud of you."

The younger Skyloftian could do little else besides stare at him in confusion. He hadn't really done anything in the hero's presence that he would've considered something to be proud of, but Link seemed to just smile strangely and pat his shoulders as though praising him for a job well done. Despite his confusion, Fledge couldn't help feeling…somewhat joyful from the praise.

After giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, Link left his room and retreated back to his own. He felt a smile pull on his lips as the reality of what just happened sunk in. He'd convinced Fledge to better himself. _He_, the sleepyhead that often needed Zelda to deal with Groose for him, just helped one of Groose's victims feel better. By himself! A light, fluttery feeling tickled his stomach and he hugged himself tightly as he rested on his bed.

The thought of Fledge passing out again made Link frown though. Without his hero here to comfort him, Fledge might falter and push himself too hard again. If not him, who'd be here to help the boy in case he passes out?

Link glanced outside at one of the beacons shining in the distance. Upon seeing the green one, he recalled faintly the old woman at the Temple Grounds telling him that Zelda had her own role to play in the Goddess's plan, as did he have his. Maybe his role included helping Fledge as much as helping Zelda? And who says it ends with Fledge? Countless other lives could need his help besides just Fledge and Zelda.

The hero settled back down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. '_No. I've helped the other citizens of Skyloft with their errands for long enough. Now it's Fledge's turn._'

A smile stretched across his face as he thought about Fledge more and how he'd get the chance to make a real difference in his life.

Fledge could hear the creak of the hero's bed as it gave in to his weight. After it settled, the air rippled with a semi-awkward silence. He considered crawling into his own bed before his stomach growled. The old woman who made meals might have gone to bed already, so he could possibly sneak a bowl of soup from her cauldron. He decided a nice hot bowl of soup sounded good right about now.

And that night, he'd crawl into bed warmed by more than just soup.

_**The End**_


End file.
